Cell treatment apparatus

ABSTRACT

A cell treatment apparatus capable of treating cells in a cell culture vessel. The cell treatment apparatus ( 100 ) according to the present invention includes a first region ( 1 ), a second region ( 3 ), and a third region ( 5 ). The first region ( 1 ) and the second region ( 3 ) are placed in succession. The first region ( 1 ) is a cell treatment chamber for treating cells. The cell treatment chamber can be closed from the outside of the cell treatment chamber and includes a culture vessel placement portion for placing a cell culture vessel. The second region ( 3 ) includes a laser irradiation device capable of irradiating the cell culture vessel placed in the culture vessel placement portion with a laser. The third region ( 5 ) includes a control device that controls at least one device in the cell treatment apparatus ( 100 ) and a power supply device ( 52 ) that supplies electric power to at least one device in the cell treatment apparatus ( 100 ). The culture vessel placement portion is placed to be adjacent to the second region ( 3 ) in the cell treatment chamber. An adjacent portion to the second region ( 3 ) in the culture vessel placement portion is translucent.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cell treatment apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, attempts have been made to differentiate target cells,tissues, and the like from pluripotent cells such as induced pluripotentstem cells (iPS cells) and embryonic stem cells (ES cells) and toutilize them for regenerative medicine and drug discovery.

In maintaining the pluripotent cells, some of the proliferatingpluripotent cells may differentiate into other cells. In addition, indifferentiation from pluripotent cells to target cells or the like, someof differentiated cells may differentiate into cells that are not thetarget cells.

In such a case, the removal of cells other than the target cells or thelike or the acquisition of the target cells is currently performedmanually. However, this removing operation or acquiring operationrequires time and labor, for example, to be carried out under amicroscope, and there is a problem that the quality of cells and thelike obtained differs greatly depending on the skill level of theoperator (Patent Literature 1).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   Patent Literature 1: JP 2014-509192 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Hence, the present invention is intended to provide a cell treatmentapparatus capable of treating cells in a cell culture vessel.

Solution to Problem

In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the cell treatmentapparatus according to the present invention is configured such that itincludes: a first region; a second region; and a third region, whereinthe first region and the second region are placed in succession, thefirst region is a cell treatment chamber for treating cells, the celltreatment chamber can be closed from the outside of the cell treatmentchamber and includes a culture vessel placement portion for placing acell culture vessel, the second region includes a laser irradiationdevice capable of irradiating the cell culture vessel placed in theculture vessel placement portion with a laser, the third region includesa control device that controls at least one device in the cell treatmentapparatus and a power supply device that supplies electric power to atleast one device in the cell treatment apparatus, the culture vesselplacement portion is placed to be adjacent to the second region in thecell treatment chamber, and an adjacent portion to the second region inthe culture vessel placement portion is translucent.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention iscapable of treating cells in the cell culture vessel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the celltreatment apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the first regionin the cell treatment apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the first region as viewed from theI-I direction of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4A is an exploded perspective view illustrating an example of theculture vessel placement portion in the cell treatment apparatusaccording to the first embodiment. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view ofthe culture vessel placement portion as viewed from the III-IIIdirection of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the first regionand an example of the circulator in the case where an outer wall of thefirst region has been removed in the cell treatment apparatus accordingto the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an upper part of the firstregion and the circulator as viewed from the II-II direction of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view illustrating an example of theconfiguration of a second region in the cell treatment apparatusaccording to the first embodiment. FIG. 7B is a perspective viewillustrating another example of the configuration of the second region.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configurationof a control device in the cell treatment apparatus according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating another example of the celltreatment apparatus according to the first embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thecell treatment chamber includes openings and doors capable of openingand closing the respective openings, for example. The doors are, forexample, non-translucent.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thecell treatment chamber includes a work opening for working on a celltreatment in the cell treatment chamber and a maintenance openingthrough which the cell treatment chamber can be maintained, for example.The work opening and the maintenance opening are placed at differentlocations in the cell treatment chamber.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thearea of the work opening is smaller than that of the maintenanceopening, for example.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thecell treatment chamber further includes, for example, a germicidaldevice capable of disinfecting the inside of the cell treatment chamber.The germicidal device is placed on the work opening side in the celltreatment chamber.

The cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention furtherincludes, for example, a circulator that circulates gas in the celltreatment chamber. The circulator includes: an intake unit that takesgas in the cell treatment chamber; a gas supply unit that partiallysupplies the intake gas into the cell treatment chamber; and a dischargeunit that discharges the remainder of the intake gas out of the celltreatment chamber.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thedischarge unit is, for example, placed in a topmost portion of the celltreatment apparatus according to the present invention.

In the cell treatment apparatus including the openings according to thepresent invention, the intake unit is, for example, placed in thevicinity of any of the openings in the cell treatment chamber.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thecell treatment chamber includes, for example, an outer wall and an innerwall, and a circulation path connecting the intake unit with the gassupply unit and the discharge unit is placed between the outer wall andthe inner wall.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thecell treatment chamber further includes, for example, an illuminationdevice capable of projecting light into the cell treatment chamber.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, forexample, the movement of the gas between the cell treatment chamber andthe second region is prevented.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thecell treatment chamber further includes, for example, asuction/discharge device and a suction/discharge moving device thatmoves the suction/discharge device. The control device includes asuction/discharge control unit that controls the suction/dischargeperformed by the suction/discharge device and the movement of thesuction/discharge device by the suction/discharge moving device.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thecell treatment chamber includes, for example, a drainage containerplacement portion for placing a drainage container for draining a liquidsucked by the suction/discharge device. The culture vessel placementportion and the drainage container placement portion are placed alongthe moving direction of the suction/discharge moving device on the planesubstantially parallel with a placement surface of the cell culturevessel.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thecell treatment chamber includes, for example, a storage containerplacement portion for placing a tip member storage container containinga tip member detachable from the suction/discharge device, and a tipmember detachment device that causes the tip member to detach from thesuction/discharge device.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thecell treatment chamber includes, for example, a first imaging devicecapable of taking an image of the inside of the cell treatment chamber,and the control device includes a first imaging control unit thatcontrols imaging of the inside of the cell treatment chamber performedby the first imaging device.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thesecond region includes, for example, a second imaging device capable oftaking an image of cells in the cell culture vessel placed in theculture vessel placement portion, and the control device includes asecond imaging control unit that controls imaging of the cells performedby the second imaging device. The second imaging device is capable oftaking an image at multiple magnifications.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thelaser irradiation device includes, for example, a laser light source anda laser emission unit. The laser light source is placed in a portion ofthe second region other than portions where other devices are placed.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thesecond region includes, for example, a second imaging device capable oftaking an image of cells in the cell culture vessel placed in theculture vessel placement portion, a laser moving device that moves thelaser irradiation device, and a second imaging moving device that movesthe second imaging device, and the control device includes: a lasercontrol unit that controls laser irradiation performed by the laserirradiation device and the movement of the laser irradiation device bythe laser moving device, a second imaging control unit that controlsimaging of cells performed by the second imaging device and the movementof the second imaging device by the second imaging moving device. Thelaser moving device is capable of moving the laser irradiation device ina first direction on a plane that is substantially parallel with aplacement surface of the culture vessel placement portion. The secondimaging moving device is capable of moving the second imaging device ina first direction on a plane that is substantially parallel with aplacement surface of the culture vessel placement portion. The movementof the laser irradiation device in the first direction performed by thelaser moving device and the movement of the second imaging device in thefirst direction performed by the second imaging moving device aremovement on the same straight line.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thelaser moving device includes, for example, a carriage on which the laserirradiation device is placed and a moving path in which the carriagemoves and is placed along the first direction, and the second imagingmoving device includes a carriage on which the second imaging device isplaced and a moving path in which the carriage moves and is placed alongthe first direction. The moving path in the laser moving device is thesame as that of the second imaging moving device.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thelaser moving device is further capable of moving the laser irradiationdevice in a direction substantially orthogonal to a placement surface ofthe culture vessel placement portion, for example.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thelaser moving device is capable of moving the laser irradiation device ina second direction that is substantially orthogonal to the firstdirection on a plane that is substantially parallel with a placementsurface of the culture vessel placement portion, for example.

In the cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, thebottom surface in the culture vessel placement portion includes, forexample, a recess where the cell culture vessel is placed, the recessincludes a projection projecting toward the inside of the recess on theend side of the second region, and a side surface of the recess isreversely tapered from the inside to the outside of the cell treatmentchamber.

In the present invention, the cell to be treated is not particularlylimited, and may be a cell, a cell mass composed of cells, a tissue, anorgan, or the like. The cell may be, for example, a cultured cell or acell isolated from a living body. The cell mass, tissue, or organ maybe, for example, a cell mass, tissue, or organ produced from the cell,or may be a cell mass, tissue, or organ isolated from a living body. Inthe cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention, forexample, microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi may be treatedinstead of the cells. In this case, the cell treatment apparatusaccording to the present invention can also be referred to as, forexample, microorganism treatment apparatus.

The following describes the cell treatment apparatus according to thepresent invention in further detail with reference to the drawings. Thepresent invention, however, is by no means limited thereby. In FIGS. 1to 9 described below, the same portions are denoted by the samereference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted. Inaddition, in the drawings, for convenience of description, the structureof each part may be shown in a simplified manner as appropriate, and thedimensional ratio and the like of each part may be schematically showndifferently from actual ones.

First Embodiment

The present embodiment is an example cell treatment apparatus. FIGS. 1to 9 illustrate an example of the configuration of the cell treatmentapparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspectiveview illustrating an example of the cell treatment apparatus accordingto the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating anexample of the configuration of a first region in the cell treatmentapparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is across-sectional view of the first region as viewed from the I-Idirection of FIG. 1. FIG. 4A is an exploded perspective viewillustrating an example of the culture vessel placement portion in thecell treatment apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4B isa cross-sectional view of the culture vessel placement portion as viewedfrom the III-III direction of FIG. 4A. FIG. 5 is a perspective viewillustrating the first region and a circulator in the case where anouter wall of the first region has been removed. FIG. 6 is across-sectional view illustrating an upper part of the first region andthe circulator as viewed from the II-II direction of FIG. 1. FIG. 7A isa perspective view illustrating an example of the configuration of asecond region of the cell treatment apparatus according to the presentembodiment. FIG. 7B is a perspective view illustrating another exampleof the configuration of the second region. FIG. 8 is a block diagramillustrating an example of the control device in the cell treatmentapparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9 is a perspectiveview illustrating another example of the configuration of the celltreatment apparatus according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cell treatment apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment includes a first region 1, a second region 3, a thirdregion 5, and a circulator 7, and the first region 1, the second region3, and the third region 5 are placed in succession in this order fromthe top. The circulator 7 included in the cell treatment apparatus 100according to the present embodiment is an optional component and may ormay not be included. The positional relationship among the first region1, the second region 3, and the third region 5 may be such that thefirst region 1 and the second region 3 are placed in succession, and thethird region 5 may be placed at any position. The third region 5 may beplaced separately from the first region 1 and the second region 3, forexample, as shown in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, in the case where thethird region 5 is placed separately from the first region 1 and thesecond region 3, the cell treatment apparatus 100 can also be referredto as a cell treatment system, for example. The cell treatment systemmay be, for example, a tabletop system. The first region 1 is preferablyplaced above the second region 3. When laser irradiation is performedfrom an upper portion of the cell culture vessel 184 by the laserirradiation device 33, it is required to place an emission port for thelaser emission unit 332 in a culture medium inside the cell culturevessel 184 to stabilize the focal point of the laser irradiation device33. However, when laser irradiation is performed in this state, aproblem of baking arises where components of the culture medium arefixed to the emission port for the laser emission unit 332, and theemission port of the laser emission unit 332 is contaminated. Thus,contamination of the emission port for the laser irradiation device 33can be prevented by placing the laser irradiation device 33 as in thecell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment whencells in the cell culture vessel 184 are cultured by the laserirradiation device 33 to be described later, for example. Therefore, thecell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present invention iscapable of stabilizing the output of the laser emitted from the laserirradiation device 33 and is capable of efficiently treating cells, forexample. The material for forming each region is not particularlylimited, and examples thereof include a stainless steel plate, arust-proof iron plate, and a resin plate that can be molded by vacuummolding, injection molding, pressure forming, or the like. The materialfor forming each region is preferably a non-translucent material becausethe second imaging device to be described later can more clearly take animage of the cells in the cell culture vessel 184. The “non-translucent”means, for example, to prevent transmission of light having a wavelengththat affects imaging by the second imaging device. In the case where thesecond imaging device is a fluorescence microscope, the wavelength ofthe light may be, for example, a wavelength corresponding to thefluorescence to be detected. As a specific example, the non-translucentmaterial can be, for example, the above-mentioned material for formingeach region. The size and shape of each region are not particularlylimited, and can be appropriately set according to the size and shape ofeach member (unit) placed in each region. In the cell treatmentapparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the first region 1and the second region 3 are configured by different housings, and thehousings configuring the first region 1 and the second region 3 areplaced adjacent to each other. However, the present invention is notlimited to this, and the first region 1 and the second region 3 may beconfigured by a single housing with the first region 1 and the secondregion 3 divided within the housing. In the cell treatment apparatus 100according to the present embodiment, the first region 1 and the secondregion 3 are configured by different housings. Thus, for example, eachmember in the cell treatment apparatus 100 can be maintained easily, andthe cell treatment apparatus 100 can be assembled easily.

The first region 1 includes an opening 11 a for working on its front(frontward in FIG. 1) and an opening 11 b for maintenance on its side.The opening 11 a is a work opening for working on a cell treatment inthe cell treatment chamber of the first region 1. The opening 11 b is amaintenance opening through which the cell treatment chamber can bemaintained. The area of the opening 11 a is preferably smaller than thatof the opening 11 b, for example, because the maintenance operation isfacilitated. The size and number of the openings 11 a and 11 b are notparticularly limited, and reference can be made, for example, to thesize and number of the work openings and the maintenance openings in thesafety cabinet. As a specific example, for the size and number of theopenings 11 a and 11 b, reference can be made, for example, to thesafety cabinet standard specified in EN12469:2000, which is the ENstandard. The number of the openings 11 b is not particularly limitedand can be any number. However, the number is preferably 2 or more, forexample, because maintenance can be further facilitated. The locationsof the opening 11 a and the opening 11 b in the first region 1 are notparticularly limited and may be any location. However, it is preferablethat the opening 11 a and the opening 11 b are placed at differentlocations (e.g., different side surfaces) of the first region 1. In thepresent embodiment, the opening 11 b is primarily intended to facilitatemaintenance within the cell treatment apparatus 100, but may be used forother purposes. The cell treatment apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment, for example, enables observation of movement and thelike of each of inside members through the opening 11 b, therebyallowing direct observation of a defect site when a problem occurs inthe cell treatment apparatus 100. Thus, countermeasures can beconsidered.

The wall in front of the first region 1 is a double wall having an outerwall and an inner wall, and the door 12 a opens and closes the opening11 a by raising and lowering a rail placed in a space between the outerwall and the inner wall. The opening 11 b can be opened and closed bydetaching and attaching the door 12 b covering the opening 11 b. Forexample, when a cell treatment is performed in the cell treatmentchamber, the opening 11 b is preferably sealed with the door 12 b. Thus,for example, the gas outside the cell treatment apparatus 100 and thedust contained in the gas outside the cell treatment apparatus 100 canbe prevented from flowing into the cell treatment chamber. In the celltreatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the opening11 a and the door 12 a thereof, and the opening 11 b and the door 12 bthereof may have any configuration and may or may not be included, andonly either of the opening 11 a and the door 12 a or the opening 11 band the door 12 b may be included. The wall of the first region 1 may bea double wall or a single wall. However, the former is preferablebecause the size of the cell treatment apparatus 100 can be reduced byplacing other members inside of the double wall in the first region 1.When the wall of the first region 1 is a single wall, the door 12 a isplaced outside the first region 1 as in, for example, the door 12 b. Thetype of opening and closing of the door is not particularly limited, andmay be, for example, a lifting type such as the door 12 a, an externaltype such as the door 12 b, or another type. The other types include,for example, a double-door type, an accordion type, a pull door type,and the like. The material for forming the door is not particularlylimited, and, for example, a material for forming each of theabove-mentioned regions can be used, and a non-translucent material ispreferable.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inner space of the first region 1 of the celltreatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is a celltreatment chamber for treating cells and can be closed by closing thedoors 12 a and 12 b, that is, can be opened and closed. The celltreatment chamber includes: an XY stage 13 a and an arm 13 b that arecollectively a suction/discharge moving device; a suction/dischargedevice 14; a light source 15; a drainage container placement portion 16a; a storage container placement portion 17 a; a culture vesselplacement portion 18; and a collection container placement portion 19 a.The XY stage 13 a, the arm 13 b, the suction/discharge device 14, thelight source 15, the drainage container placement portion 16 a, thestorage container placement portion 17 a, and the collection containerplacement portion 19 a included in the cell treatment chamber areoptional components in the present embodiment and may or may not beincluded, and one of them may be included, or two or more of them may beincluded. The XY stage 13 a is placed on the bottom surface of the celltreatment chamber and is placed so as to be movable in the directionsindicated by arrows X and Y. The arm 13 b including a pair of arms isplaced on the XY stage 13 a. At the end of one of the arms in the arm 13b, the suction/discharge device 14 is placed with its suction/dischargeport directed downward. Further, at the end of the other arm in the arm13 b, the light source 15 is placed so as to be able to emit light(perform light irradiation) in the downward direction. The drainagecontainer placement portion 16 a, the storage container placementportion 17 a, the culture vessel placement portion 18, and thecollection container placement portion 19 a are placed on the bottomsurface of the cell treatment chamber in this order along the movingdirection of the XY stage 13 a indicated by the arrow X. A drainagecontainer 16 b including a tip member detachment device 16 c is placedin the drainage container placement portion 16 a, a storage container 17b is placed in the storage container placement portion 17 a, and acollection container 19 b is placed in the collection containerplacement portion 19 a.

The XY stage 13 a and the arm 13 b are provided as a suction/dischargemoving device in the cell treatment apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment. However, the suction/discharge moving device is notlimited thereto and may be capable of moving the suction/dischargedevice 14, and a known moving device can be used, for example. Themoving direction of the suction/discharge moving device is notparticularly limited, and the suction/discharge moving device may be,for example, movable in one direction (e.g., the direction indicated bythe arrow Y), movable in two directions (e.g., the directions indicatedby the arrows X and Y), or movable in three directions (e.g., thedirections indicated by the arrows X, Y and Z). In the case of twodirections, the first direction needs not to be parallel with the seconddirection and is preferably substantially orthogonal or orthogonal tothe second direction. In this case, it is preferable that the planeincluding the first direction and the second direction is substantiallyparallel with a placement surface of the culture vessel placementportion 18. In the case of three directions, the third direction mayintersect with, for example, a plane including the first direction andthe second direction, and is preferably substantially orthogonal ororthogonal to the plane including the first direction and the seconddirection. In the present embodiment, the XY stage 13 a is a known stagecapable of moving an object at high speed and precisely along thedirections indicated by the arrows X and Y via, for example, a linearmotor carriage or the like. The arm 13 b is extendable in the verticaldirection (the direction indicated by the arrow Z). However, the arm 13b may be fixed. In the latter case, the suction/discharge moving deviceis capable of moving the suction/discharge device 14 only on a planesubstantially parallel with the bottom surface of the cell treatmentchamber, i.e., only in the directions indicated by the arrows X and Y inFIG. 2.

The suction/discharge device 14 sucks and discharges, for example, amedium, cells, and the like in the cell culture vessel 184. Thesuction/discharge device 14 is used, for example, by attaching a tipmember to be described later on the suction/discharge port side thereof.The suction/discharge device 14 is not particularly limited, and, forexample, a known suction/discharge device can be used. Specific examplesthereof include an electric pipette, an electric syringe pump, and thelike.

The light source 15 emits light, for example, from the upper portion ofthe culture vessel placement portion 18 toward the culture vesselplacement portion 18. The light source 15 is preferably used togetherwhen an optical microscope such as a phase-contrast microscope is usedas the second imaging device to be described later, for example. Thelight emitted by the light source 15 is, for example, visible light. Thelight source 15 is not particularly limited, and examples thereofinclude known light sources such as a xenon light source, a lightemitting diode (LED) illumination, and a laser diode (LD). In thepresent embodiment, the light source 15 is placed on the arm 13 b of thesuction/discharge moving device and moves synchronously with themovement of the suction/discharge device 14. However, the light source15 may move asynchronously with the suction/discharge device 14. As aspecific example, the light source 15 may be placed in a light sourcemoving device capable of moving the light source 15, which is differentfrom the suction/discharge moving device, for example. In this case, thecontrol device 51 to be described later may include a light sourcemovement control unit that controls movement of the light source movingdevice. As the moving direction of the light source moving device can bedescribed with reference to the description of the moving direction ofthe suction/discharge device, for example.

The drainage container placement portion 16 a is a region in which adrainage container 16 b for draining a liquid sucked by thesuction/discharge device 14 can be placed. The drainage container 16 bplaced in the drainage container placement portion 16 a in the presentembodiment is an optional component and may or may not be included. Inthe present embodiment, the drainage container 16 b is a box having anupper opening, a wall on the storage container placement portion 17 aside, extending upward, and a wall (upper surface) substantiallyparallel with the bottom surface of the cell treatment chamber,including a tip member detachment device 16 c formed as a semicircularrecess (notch) at the upper end thereof. The drainage container 16 b cancollect a tip member detached from the suction/discharge device 14.Thus, for example, the drainage container 16 b can also be referred toas a tip member collection container, or the drainage containerplacement portion 16 a can also be referred to as a tip membercollection container placement portion. The tip member detachment device16 c is formed in a drainage container 16 b and however may be placedseparately. The tip member detachment device 16 c may be placed in thevicinity of the suction/discharge device 14, specifically in thesuction/discharge moving device in which the suction/discharge device 14is placed.

The storage container placement portion 17 a is a region in which thestorage container 17 b storing the tip member detachable from thesuction/discharge device 14. The storage container 17 b placed in thestorage container placement portion 17 a in the present embodiment is anoptional component and may or may not be included. The tip member is notparticularly limited, may be any member capable of storing the liquidsucked by the suction/discharge device 14 therein and can be, forexample, a chip in the case where the suction/discharge device 14 is apipette. The storage container 17 b is, for example, a rack in which thechips are stored. The cell treatment apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment includes a tip member detachment device 16 c and astorage container placement portion 17 a, thereby simplifying(shortening) the movement of the cell culture vessel 184 when themedium, the cells, and the like inside the cell culture vessel 184 aresucked and discharged.

The collection container placement portion 19 a is a region where acollection container 19 b for collecting a suction liquid containing thecells collected by the suction/discharge device 14 can be placed. Thecollection container 19 b placed in the collection container placementportion 19 a in the present embodiment is an optional component and mayor may not be included. Examples of the collection container 19 binclude culture vessels such as known dishes and known flasks.

In the present embodiment, on the bottom surface of the cell treatmentchamber, the drainage container placement portion 16 a, the storagecontainer placement portion 17 a, the culture vessel placement portion18, and the collection container placement portion 19 a are placed inthis order in the plane that is substantially parallel with the surfaceon which the culture vessel placement portion 18 is placed, i.e., thebottom surface of the cell treatment chamber along the direction ofmovement of an XY stage 13 a in the long axis direction (directionindicated by the arrow X). However, each placement portion may not beplaced along the long axis direction, and may not be placed in thisorder. In the present embodiment, the drainage container placementportion 16 a, the storage container placement portion 17 a, the culturevessel placement portion 18, and the collection container placementportion 19 a are placed in the above-mentioned order. Thus, for example,the suction/discharge device 14 can move linearly, and the movement ofthe suction/discharge device 14 at the time of sucking and dischargingthe medium, the cells, and the like in the cell culture vessel 184 canbe simplified (shortened).

As shown in FIG. 3, a first camera 20, illumination lamps 21 a and 21 b,and a germicidal lamp 22 are provided above the opening 11 a on thefront wall of the cell treatment chamber in the cell treatment apparatus100 according to the present embodiment. The illumination lamps 21 a and21 b are placed on both sides of the first camera 20 along the directionindicated by the arrow X, and the germicidal lamp 22 is placed above thefirst camera 20.

The camera 20 is provided as the first imaging device in the presentembodiment. However, the first imaging device is an optional componentand may or may not be included. The first imaging device is not limitedto a camera and may be capable of taking an image of the inside of thecell treatment chamber. The first imaging device is not particularlylimited, and a known imaging device such as a microscope or a camera ora combination of the known imaging device and a solid-state imagingelement (image sensor) such as a CCD or a Complementary MOS (CMOS) canbe used. In the present embodiment, the camera 20 is placed on the frontwall inside the cell treatment chamber. However, the position of thecamera 20 is not particularly limited, and the camera 20 may be placedat any position and preferably placed to allow taking of an image of awide range within the cell treatment chamber. Specifically, in the casewhere the XY stage 13 a and the arm 13 b which are collectively asuction/discharge moving device and the suction/discharge device 14 areplaced in back (the upper left side in FIG. 2) of the culture vesselplacement portion 18 in the cell treatment chamber as in the celltreatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, an image ofa wide range within the cell treatment chamber can be taken. It is thuspreferable to place them in front (the lower right side in FIG. 2) ofthe cell treatment chamber. It is preferable that the first imagingdevice is capable of taking an image at multiple magnifications (e.g.,different magnifications). However, the first imaging device may becapable of taking an image at one magnification. The magnificationmeans, for example, an imaging magnification. As a specific example, thecamera 20 includes lenses with multiple magnifications (e.g., differentmagnifications). The first imaging device may be capable of opticalzooming, digital zooming, or the like, for example. The cell treatmentapparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a camera 20.Thus, for example, the operation inside the cell treatment chamber canbe checked, and the reliability of the operation can be improved. Thenumber of the first imaging devices placed inside the cell treatmentchamber is not particularly limited, and may be one or more.

In the present embodiment, the illumination lamps 21 a and 21 b areprovided as the illumination device. However, the illumination device isan optional component and may or may not be included. The illuminationdevice is not limited to the illumination lamp and may be one capable ofprojecting light (illuminating) into the cell treatment chamber. Theillumination device is not particularly limited, and, for example, aknown illumination such as a fluorescent lamp or an LED lamp can beused. In the present embodiment, the illumination lamps 21 a and 21 bare placed on the front wall inside the cell treatment chamber. However,the positions of the illumination lamps 21 a and 21 b are notparticularly limited and can be any positions, and are preferably placedsuch that they can project light on a wide area within the celltreatment chamber, i.e., they are difficult to shade in the celltreatment chamber. Specifically, in the case where the XY stage 13 a andthe arm 13 b that are collectively a suction/discharge moving device 13b and the suction/discharge device 14 are placed in back (the upper leftside in FIG. 2) of the culture vessel placement portion 18 in the celltreatment chamber as in the cell treatment apparatus 100 according tothe present embodiment, light can be transmitted over a wide rangewithin the cell treatment chamber. It is thus preferable to place themin front (the lower right side in FIG. 2) of the cell treatment chamber.The cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodimentincludes the illumination lamps 21 a and 21 b. Thus, for example, theoperation inside the cell treatment chamber can be checked, and thereliability of the operation can be improved. The number of theillumination devices placed in the cell treatment chamber is notparticularly limited, and may be one or more.

In the present embodiment, a germicidal lamp 22 is provided as agermicidal device. However, the germicidal device is an optionalcomponent and may or may not be included. Moreover, the germicidaldevice is not limited to the germicidal lamp and may be capable ofdisinfecting the inside of the cell treatment chamber, specifically theperiphery of the culture vessel placement portion 18. The germicidaldevice is not particularly limited, and for example, can be any of knowngermicidal devices such as a germicidal lamp and an ultraviolet LEDlamp. In the present embodiment, the germicidal lamp 22 is placed on thefront wall inside the cell treatment chamber. However, the position ofthe germicidal lamp 22 is not particularly limited and may be anyposition. For example, dust and the like outside the cell treatmentapparatus 100 enter the openings 11 a and 11 b. It is thus preferablethat the germicidal lamp 22 is placed to be capable of disinfecting thevicinities of the openings 11 a and 11 b. Specifically, in the casewhere an opening 11 a is provided in the front wall of the celltreatment chamber as in the cell treatment apparatus 100 according tothe present embodiment, the germicidal device is preferably placed abovethe opening 11 a in the front wall of the cell treatment chamber. In thecase where an opening 11 b is provided in the wall on the side surfaceof the cell treatment chamber as in the cell treatment apparatus 100according to the present embodiment, the germicidal device is preferablyplaced above the opening 11 b in the wall on the side surface of thecell treatment chamber. When the cell treatment apparatus 100 includesthe illumination device and the germicidal device, both of the devicesare preferably placed on the same wall of the cell treatment chamber,for example, on a wall in which the opening 11 a is provided. In thiscase, the germicidal device is provided preferably above theillumination device. The cell treatment apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment includes a germicidal lamp 22. Thus, for example, thecleanliness of the inside of the cell treatment chamber is improved. Thenumber of germicidal devices placed in the cell treatment chamber is notparticularly limited, and may be one or more.

In the first region 1 according to the present embodiment, as to thesize, shape, structure, and the like of the cell treatment chamber,reference can be made to those of the safety cabinet, for example, andas a specific example, reference can be made to the standards of thesafety cabinet specified in the above EN12469:2000.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the culture vessel placement portion 18 inthe cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodimentincludes an upper lid 181 and a bottom 182, and the upper lid 181 isdetachably attached to the bottom 182. In the present embodiment, theculture vessel placement portion 18 is a box including the upper lid 181and the bottom 182, and cell culture vessels 184 are placed inside thebox. However, the culture vessel placement portion 18 is not limited tothis, and cell culture vessels 184 may be placed in the culture vesselplacement portion 18, the culture vessel placement portion 18 may beplaced so as to be adjacent to the second region 3 in the cell treatmentchamber, and the adjacent portion (bottom plate 186 in FIGS. 4A and 4B)of the culture vessel placement portion 18 to the second region 3 may betranslucent. The “translucent” means, for example, transmission of thelaser, that emitted from the laser irradiation device 33 in the secondregion 3. Further, when the second region 3 includes a second imagingdevice to be described later, the “translucent” means that the secondimaging device can take an image via the bottom plate 186. A translucentregion 183 is provided in the upper lid 181 such that the cell culturevessel 184 can be irradiated with light from the light source 15. Thetranslucent region 183 is formed of, for example, a transparent glassplate, an acrylic plate, or the like. The bottom 182 includes a bottomwall 185 and a translucent bottom plate 186. The translucent bottomplate 186 is formed of, for example, a transparent glass plate, anacrylic plate, or the like. The bottom plate 186 is adjacent to thesecond region 3. For this reason, it can also be said that the adjacentportion of the culture vessel placement portion 18 to the second region3, i.e., the bottom plate 186 forms a part of the wall of the celltreatment chamber. The contact portion between the bottom plate 186 andthe wall of the cell treatment chamber is preferably sealed with asealing member such as a gasket or a sealing material, for example. As aresult, for example, the gas in the second region 3 and dust containedtherein can be prevented from flowing into the culture vessel placementportion 18 and the cell treatment chamber. The bottom wall 185 includesfour recesses 187 in which four cell culture vessels 184 can berespectively placed, and the side surface of each recess 187 has areversely tapered shape that narrows from the inside of the celltreatment chamber toward the outside of the cell treatment chamber (fromtop toward bottom in FIG. 4B). Each recess 187 includes a projection 188projecting toward the inside of the recess 187 on the end side of thebottom plate 186. The bottom end of the cell culture vessel 184 is incontact with the projection 188. In the cell treatment apparatus 100according to the present embodiment, the bottom wall 185 has fourrecesses 187. However, the number of the recesses 187 in the bottom wall185 is not limited to this, and can be appropriately set according tothe number of the cell culture vessels 184 to be placed. The size ofeach recess 187 can be appropriately set in accordance with the size ofthe cell culture vessel 184 to be placed. In the culture vesselplacement portion 18 according to the present embodiment, the recess 187has the above-described structure. Thus, for example, the cell culturevessel 184 can be placed in the culture vessel placement portion 18regardless of the shape of the side surface of the cell culture vessel184. In the cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the presentembodiment, the bottom wall 185 is integrally formed with the wall ofthe bottom surface and the wall of the side surface. However, the bottomwall 185 is not limited to this, and the wall of the bottom surface andthe wall of the side surface may be different members. When the wall ofthe bottom surface and the wall of the side surface in the bottom wall185 are configured by different members, for example, multiple walls ofthe bottom surfaces for the bottom wall 185, having different numbersand sizes of recesses 187 can be provided in advance. Thus, for example,the member of the wall of the bottom surface for the bottom wall 185 canbe replaced with a member having a suitable number of recesses withsuitable sizes for placement of the cell culture vessels 184 accordingto the size and number of the cell culture vessels 184.

The cell culture vessel 184 is not particularly limited, and examplesthereof include culture vessels such as a well-known dish and flask usedfor cell culture. The material for forming the cell culture vessel 184is not particularly limited and can be, for example, a material thattransmits a laser emitted from the laser irradiation device 33 to bedescribed later. Specific examples thereof include plastic, glass, andthe like that transmit a laser. Examples of the plastic includepolystyrene-based polymers, acrylic polymers (such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)), polyvinylpyridine-based polymers (such aspoly(4-vinylpyridine) and 4-vinylpyridine-styrene copolymers),silicone-based polymers (such as polydimethylsiloxane), polyolefin-basedpolymers (such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polymethylpentene),polyester-based polymers (such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) andpolyethylene naphthalate (PEN)), polycarbonate-based polymers, andepoxy-based polymers.

The cell culture vessel 184 preferably includes, for example, a laserabsorption layer formed of a polymer containing a dye structure(chromophore) for absorbing the laser or a photoacid generator forabsorbing the laser and generating an acidic substance on a surface(lower side in FIGS. 4A and 4B) on which the laser is emitted from thelaser irradiation device 33 to be described later. The dye structure andthe photoacid generator can be described with reference to, for example,the description of Japanese Patent No. 6033980. The cell culture vessel184 includes the laser absorption layer. Thus, for example, when a laseris emitted from the laser irradiation device 33 to be described later,the energy of the laser is converted into heat, acid, or the like, andthe cells existing above the laser absorption layer can be killed,liberated, or the like.

The culture vessel placement portion 18 may further include, forexample, a temperature adjustment device that adjusts the temperature ofthe cell culture vessel 184. When the culture vessel placement portion18 includes the temperature adjustment device, the culture conditionsduring the treatment of the cells in the cell culture vessel 184 can bekept constant, and for example, damage to the cells at the time of thetreatment of the cells can be reduced. The temperature adjustment devicemay be, for example, a heating device such as a heater.

The culture vessel placement portion 18 may further include, forexample, a pH adjustment device that adjusts the pH of the culturemedium in the cell culture vessel 184. When the culture vessel placementportion 18 includes the pH adjustment device, the culture conditionsduring the treatment of the cells in the cell culture vessel 184 can bekept constant, and for example, damage to the cells at the time of thetreatment of the cells can be reduced. The pH adjustment device can be,for example, a carbon dioxide concentration adjustment device. Specificexamples thereof include a carbon dioxide cylinder and a connectorconnected to a carbon dioxide supply device outside the cell treatmentapparatus 100.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the cell treatment apparatus 100 accordingto the present embodiment, the circulator 7 includes an intake unit 71,circulation path 72, a gas supply unit 73, and an discharge unit 74.Thus, the circulator 7 circulates the gas in the cell treatment chamber.

The intake unit 71 takes the gas in the cell treatment chamber. Theintake unit 71 may take gas outside the cell treatment apparatus 100instead of or in addition to the gas in the cell treatment chamber. Inthe present embodiment, the intake unit 71 is placed in the vicinity of(e.g., directly below) the opening 11 a of the cell treatment chamber.Specifically, the intake unit 71 has multiple openings (e.g., slits)formed on its upper surface (not shown) and is placed below the opening11 a such that the opening communicates with the opening 11 a. Byplacing the intake unit 71 in the vicinity of the opening 11 a of thecell treatment chamber as described above, for example, the gas outsidethe cell treatment apparatus 100 and the dust and the like containedtherein can be prevented from flowing into the cell treatment chamber atthe time when the operator opens the door 12 a and works in the celltreatment chamber. The intake unit 71 may be placed in the vicinity ofthe opening 11 b instead of or in addition to the opening 11 a. Theintake unit 71 may take the gas into the cell treatment chamber with ablowing device such as a fan, for example.

The circulation path 72 connects the intake unit 71 with the gas supplyunit 73 and the discharge unit 74. In the present embodiment, thecirculation path 72 is placed in a space between the outer wall and theinner wall and in an upper portion of the first region 1. Thecirculation path 72 is, for example, a hollow tube. One end of thecirculation path 72 communicates with the intake unit 71, and the otherend communicates with the gas supply unit 73 and the discharge unit 74.When the circulation path 72 is placed in a space between the outer walland the inner wall as in the cell treatment apparatus 100 according tothe present embodiment, for example, the size of the cell treatmentapparatus 100 can be reduced. In the present embodiment, the circulator7 includes the circulation path 72. However, the circulation path 72 mayor may not be included. In the latter case, the intake unit 71 isconnected to, for example, directly the gas supply unit 73 and thedischarge unit 74. The circulation path 72 may blow the gas taken in bythe intake unit 71 to the gas supply unit 73 and the discharge unit 74by a blowing device such as a fan, for example.

When the circulation path 72 includes the blowing device, the blowingdevice may be placed in the vicinity of the intake unit 71, the gassupply unit 73, or the discharge unit 74, or may be placed in any ofother positions such as the central portion thereof. However, it ispreferable to place the blowing device in the vicinity of the intakeunit 71 because, the intake from the intake unit 71 is improved, and thedust and the like can be effectively prevented from flowing into thecell treatment chamber, for example, as compared with the downflowgenerated by the gas supply unit 73 to be described later. When theblowing device is placed in the vicinity of the intake unit 71, it ispreferable that the blowing device is placed in, for example, the secondregion 3 or the third region 5. As a specific example, when thecirculation path 72 further includes the blowing device in the celltreatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the blowingdevice is placed in front (the lower left side in FIG. 1), that is, onthe lower side of the intake unit 71 in the second region 3 or the thirdregion 5. In this case, the circulation path 72 connects the intake unit71 with the intake side of the blowing device and connects the blowingside of the blowing device with the gas supply unit 73 and the dischargeunit 74. That is, the circulation path 72 is placed in the second region3 or the second region 3 and the third region 5, the space between theouter wall and the inner wall, and the upper portion of the first region1.

The gas supply unit 73 supplies a part of the gas taken in by the intakeunit 71 into the cell treatment chamber. In the present embodiment, thegas supply unit 73 communicates with the upper end of the first region 1such that the gas taken in by the intake unit 71 can be supplied intothe cell treatment chamber. The gas supply unit 73 may supply the gasinto the cell treatment chamber with the blowing device such as a fan,for example. The gas supply unit 73 may include, for example, a gaspurification member. In this case, the gas supplied from the gas supplyunit 73 into the cell treatment chamber passes through the gaspurification member. When the gas supply unit 73 includes the gaspurification member, for example, the dust or the like can be preventedfrom flowing into the cell treatment chamber. Examples of the gaspurification member include a filter for collecting fine particulatessuch as a high efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA filter) and anultra-low penetration air filter (ULPA filter). In the cell treatmentapparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the upper part of thecell treatment chamber is connected to the gas supply unit 73. Thus, forexample, blowing air from the gas supply unit 73 causes downflow, whichcan more effectively prevent dust from flowing into the cell treatmentchamber from the opening 11 a.

The discharge unit 74 discharges the remainder of the gas taken in bythe intake unit 71 to the outside of the cell treatment chamber,specifically, to the outside of the cell treatment apparatus 100. In thepresent embodiment, the discharge unit 74 is placed at an upper end(topmost portion) of the cell treatment apparatus 100 such that the gastaken in by the intake unit 71 can be discharged to the outside of thecell treatment apparatus 100. When the discharge unit 74 is provided inthe topmost portion of the cell treatment apparatus 100 in this manner,for example, the size of the cell treatment apparatus 100 can bereduced, and the dust stirred up due to discharge can be prevented fromflowing into the cell treatment chamber. The discharge unit 74 maydischarge the gas to the outside of the cell treatment apparatus 100with a blowing device such as a fan, for example. The discharge unit 74may include, for example, a gas purification member. In this case, thegas discharged from the discharge unit 74 to the outside of the celltreatment apparatus 100 passes through the gas purification member. Whenthe discharge unit 74 includes a gas purification member, for example,fine particles or the like generated in the cell treatment chamber canbe prevented from blowing out of the cell treatment apparatus 100.

In the circulator 7 according to the present embodiment, as to the size,shape, structure, and the like of each part, reference can be made tothose of the safety cabinet, for example, and as a specific example,reference can be made to the standard of the safety cabinet specified inthe above-mentioned EN12469:2000.

As shown in FIG. 7A, in the cell treatment apparatus 100 according tothe present embodiment, the second region 3 includes a second XY stage31, a microscope 32 having objective lenses 321 a to 321 c with threedifferent magnifications, and a laser irradiation device 33. The XYstage 31 and the microscope 32 included in the cell treatment apparatus100 according to the present embodiment are optional components and mayor may not be included, and one of them may be included. The XY stage 31is placed on the placement surface of the culture vessel placementportion 18, that is, on the bottom surface of the second region 3substantially parallel with the bottom surface of the cell treatmentchamber. On a common rail (moving path) in the direction indicated bythe arrow Y in the XY stage 31, two rails in the direction indicated bythe arrow X are placed so as to be movable on the common rail. Carriages311 a and 311 b are placed on the respective rails in the directionindicated by the arrow X so as to be movable on the respective rails.The laser irradiation device 33 includes a laser light source 331, alaser emission unit 332, and an optical fiber 333. At the upper part ofthe XY stage 31, the microscope 32 is placed on the carriage 311 b suchthat the objective lenses 321 a to 321 c face upward (the directionindicated by the arrow Z), and the laser emission unit 332 of the laserirradiation device 33 is placed on the carriage 311 a such that a laseremission port face upward (the direction indicated by the arrow Z). Thecarriage 311 a is movable up and down in the vertical direction (thedirection indicated by the arrow Z). The laser light source 331 isplaced on the bottom surface of the second region 3 in a region whichdoes not overlap with the movable range of the XY stage 31 in the secondregion 3. One end of the optical fiber 333 is connected to the laserlight source 331, and the other end is connected to the laser emissionunit 332.

The XY stage 31 is provided as a laser moving device and a secondimaging moving device in the cell treatment apparatus 100 according tothe present embodiment. However, the laser moving device and the secondimaging moving device are not limited to this and may be capable ofmoving the laser irradiation device 33 and a second imaging device to bedescribed later, and for example, a known moving device can be used. Inthe present embodiment, the laser moving device and the second imagingmoving device share a rail in the direction indicated by the arrow(first direction). However, the laser moving device and the secondimaging moving device may be independent. As a specific example, asshown in FIG. 7B, on the bottom surface of the second region 3, thelaser moving device may be placed as, for example, an XY stage 31 a, andthe second imaging moving device may be placed as an XY stage 31 b. Themoving directions for the laser moving device and the second imagingmoving device are not particularly limited, and they may be, forexample, movable in one direction (for example, the direction indicatedby the arrow Y), movable in two directions (for example, the directionsindicated by the arrows X and Y), or movable in three directions (forexample, the directions indicated by the arrows X, Y and Z). In the caseof two directions, the first direction needs not to be parallel with thesecond direction and is preferably substantially orthogonal ororthogonal to the second direction. In this case, it is preferable thatthe plane including the first direction and the second direction issubstantially parallel with a placement surface of the culture vesselplacement portion 18. In the case of three directions, the thirddirection may intersect with, for example, a plane including the firstdirection and the second direction, and is preferably substantiallyorthogonal or orthogonal to the plane including the first direction andthe second direction. When the laser moving device is capable of movingthe laser irradiation device 33 in the direction substantiallyorthogonal to a placement surface of the culture vessel placementportion 18, i.e., the bottom surface of the cell culture vessel 184, thelaser moving device is capable of adjusting the spot diameter to bedescribed later, for example. In this case, the laser moving device alsoserves as, for example, a spot diameter adjustment device to bedescribed later. In the present embodiment, the XY stage 31 is a knownstage capable of moving an object at high speed and precisely along thedirections indicated by the arrows X and Y via, for example, a linearmotor carriage or the like.

It is preferable that the laser moving device and the second imagingmoving device are capable of moving the laser irradiation device 33 andthe second imaging moving device, respectively, in the first direction(for example, the direction indicated by the arrow Y in FIG. 7A) on aplane substantially parallel to the placement surface of the culturevessel placement portion 18 as in the XY stage 31 according to thepresent embodiment, and that the movement of the laser irradiationdevice 33 by the laser moving device in the first direction and themovement of the second imaging device by the second imaging movingdevice in the first direction are on the same straight line. When thelaser irradiation device 33 and the second imaging device move on thesame straight line in this manner, the number of times of movement ofeach device can be reduced, and the treatment time can be reduced, inthe cell treatment performed by the laser irradiation device 33 aftertaking an image of the cells in the cell culture vessel 184 by thesecond imaging device, for example. Further, as in the XY stage 31according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the lasermoving device includes a carriage 311 a in which the laser irradiationdevice 33 is placed and a moving path (rail) in which the carriage 311 amoves and which is placed along the first direction, and that the secondimaging moving device includes a carriage 311 b in which the secondimaging device is placed and a moving path (rail) in which the carriage311 b moves and which is placed along the first direction, and that themoving path of the laser moving device is the same as that of the secondimaging device. With this configuration, it is possible to furtherreduce the number of times of movement of each device and the treatmenttime in the cell treatment performed by the laser irradiation device 33after imaging by the second imaging device.

A microscope 32 having objective lenses 321 a to 321 c with threedifferent magnifications is provided as the second imaging device in thecell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.However, the second imaging device is not limited to this and may becapable of taking an image of cells in the cell culture vessel 184placed in the culture vessel placement portion 18. The second imagingdevice is not particularly limited, and a known imaging device such as amicroscope or a camera or a combination of the known imaging device anda solid-state imaging element (image sensor) such as a CCD or aComplementary MOS (CMOS) can be used. Examples of the microscope includeoptical microscopes such as a phase-contrast microscope and afluorescence microscope. The microscope may have, for example, bothfunctions of the phase-contrast microscope and the fluorescencemicroscope. The second imaging device is preferably capable of taking animage at multiple magnifications, for example, and may however becapable of taking an image at one magnification. As a specific example,when the second imaging device is a microscope, it is preferable thatthe microscope has objective lenses with multiple magnifications (forexample, different magnifications). In the present embodiment, themagnifications of the objective lenses 321 a to 321 c are, for example,2, 4 and 8 times, respectively. The second imaging device may be capableof optical zooming, digital zooming, or the like, for example. When thefirst imaging device and the second imaging device are included as inthe cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment,the magnification of the second imaging device is preferably higher thanthat of the first imaging device because an image of cells in the cellculture vessel 184 can be taken more clearly.

In the cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment,the laser irradiation device 33 includes a laser light source 331, alaser emission unit 332, and an optical fiber 333. However, the laserirradiation device 33 is not limited to this and may be capable ofirradiating the cell culture vessel 184 placed in the culture vesselplacement portion 18 with a laser. The laser irradiation device 33 mayinclude, for example, a laser light source 331, and the laser lightsource 331 may directly irradiate the cell culture vessel 184 with alaser. When the laser from the laser light source 331 is guided to thelaser emission unit 332, laser may be guided using a light guide unitsuch as a mirror and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) instead ofthe optical fiber 333. However, the optical fiber 333 is preferablebecause the laser light source 331 can be placed at any position in thesecond region 3, and for example, by placing the laser light source 331in a region in which other devices such as the laser moving device, thesecond imaging device, and the second imaging moving device are notplaced and which does not overlap with the movable range of the otherdevices, the size of the cell treatment apparatus 100 can be reduced,and the weight of the cell treatment apparatus 100 can be reduced ascompared with the case of using other light guide units.

The laser light source 331 is, for example, a device that oscillates acontinuous-wave laser or a pulsed laser. The laser light source 331 maybe, for example, a high-frequency laser having a long pulse width closeto a continuous wave. The output of the laser oscillated from the laserlight source 331 is not particularly limited, and can be appropriatelydetermined depending on, for example, treatment and cells. Thewavelength of the laser oscillated by the laser light source 331 is notparticularly limited, and can be, for example, a visible light laser of405 nm, 450 nm, 520 nm, 532 nm, 808 nm, or the like, an infrared laser,or the like. As mentioned above, in the case where the cell culturevessel 184 is provided with a laser absorption layer, the laser lightsource 331 oscillates, for example, a laser of a wavelength that can beabsorbed by the laser absorption layer. It is preferable that the laserlight source 331 oscillates a laser with a wavelength greater than 380nm to prevent influence on cells. As a specific example, the laser lightsource 331 may be a continuous-wave diode laser with a maximum-power of5 W and a wavelength near 405 nm.

When the laser irradiation device 33 includes a laser emission unit 332,it is preferable that the laser moving device moves the laser emissionunit 332. When the laser moving device moves the laser emission unit 332in the vertical direction (the direction indicated by the arrow Z inFIGS. 7A and 7B), it is preferable to move the laser emission unit 332such that the laser emission port of the laser emission unit 332 doesnot come into contact with the bottom surface of the cell treatmentchamber, preferably the bottom surface of the culture vessel placementportion 18. As a specific example, it is preferable that the lasermoving device moves the laser emission port of the laser emission unit332 so as not to approach within 1 mm relative to the bottom surface ofthe culture vessel placement portion 18. When the laser moving devicemoves the laser emission unit 332 in such a range, for example, it ispossible to prevent sway of the culture medium in the cell culturevessel 184 placed in the culture vessel placement portion 18 caused bycontact between the laser emission unit 332 and the bottom surface ofthe culture vessel placement portion 18.

In the present embodiment, the microscope 32, which is the secondimaging device, is placed in front (the lower left side in FIGS. 7A and7B), and the laser irradiation device 33 is placed in back (the upperright side in FIGS. 7A and 7B). However, the positional relationshipbetween the second imaging device and the laser irradiation device 33 isnot limited to this, and for example, the second imaging device may beplaced in back and the laser irradiation device 33 may be placed infront. Generally, the volume of the second imaging device such as amicroscope is larger than that of the laser irradiation device 33. Thus,in the case where the culture vessel placement portion 18 is placed infront of the first region 1, the size of the cell treatment apparatus100 can be reduced by placing the second imaging device in back andplacing the laser irradiation device 33 in front.

The cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment mayfurther include a spot diameter adjustment device that adjusts adiameter of a spot formed in a portion to be irradiated with the laserin an object to be irradiated. The spot diameter means a diameter of alaser beam at a contact portion between the laser and the object to beirradiated. The spot diameter can be adjusted, for example, by switchingat least one of a laser condensing lens or a collimator lens of thelaser irradiation device 33 or by changing the distance between thelaser irradiation device 33 and the object to be irradiated. In theformer case, it is preferable that the laser irradiation device 33includes, for example, multiple lenses, and the spot diameter adjustmentdevice adjusts the spot diameter by switching the lens. The multiplelenses may be, for example, multiple condensing lenses, multiplecollimator lenses, or a combination of one or more condensing lenses andone or more collimator lenses. The multiple condensing lenses havedifferent focal lengths, for example. The multiple collimator lenseshave different focal lengths, for example. The lens may be switchedmanually, for example, or may be switched by a spot diameter adjustmentcontrol unit to be described later. In the latter case, for example, thespot diameter adjustment control unit includes a lens change unit, andthe lens is switched by the lens switching unit. In the case where thespot diameter adjustment device changes the distance, it is preferablethat the spot diameter adjustment device adjusts the spot diameter byadjusting the distance between the laser irradiation device 33 and theobject to be irradiated. The distance between the laser irradiationdevice 33 and the object to be irradiated means, for example, a distancein a direction substantially orthogonal to a placement surface of theculture vessel placement portion 18, that is, the bottom surface of thecell culture vessel 184. In the case where the laser irradiation device33 includes the laser emission unit 332, the distance between the laserirradiation device 33 and the object to be irradiated means a distancebetween the laser emission unit 332 and the object to be irradiated. Thedistance between the laser irradiation device 33 and the object to beirradiated can be adjusted by, for example, the laser moving device. Asa specific example, the distance from the bottom surface of the cellculture vessel 184, which is the object to be irradiated, can beadjusted by the movement in the direction indicated by the arrow Z bythe laser moving device. In the cell treatment apparatus 100 accordingto the present embodiment, the carriage 311 a on the XY stage 31, whichis the laser moving device, is movable up and down in the verticaldirection (the direction indicated by the arrow Z). Thus, the lasermoving device according to the present embodiment can also be referredto as, for example, a spot diameter adjustment device. The spot diameteradjustment device adjusts the spot diameter to be small, for example,when division of a cell mass, excision of cells or a cell mass in aspecific region, and the like are performed in the case of performing acell treatment in which a small spot diameter is desired. The spotdiameter adjustment device adjusts the spot diameter to be large, forexample, when cells in a specific region are caused to be dead in thecase of performing a cell treatment in which a large spot diameter is tobe killed. The size of the spot diameter is not particularly limited,and can be appropriately set according to, for example, the type of thecell treatment, the size of the cells, and the like. When the celltreatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes aspot diameter adjustment device, for example, the spot diameter can beadjusted to an appropriate size by the treatment performed on cells, andthe cell treatment can be performed quickly. The adjustment of the spotdiameter to an appropriate size allows the influence on cells not to besubjected to the treatment to be reduced, for example.

In the case where the cell treatment apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment includes the spot diameter adjustment device, it ispreferable that the control device to be described later includes a spotdiameter adjustment control unit that controls adjustment of the spotdiameter performed by the spot diameter adjustment device.

In the cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment,it is preferable that the movement of the gas between the cell treatmentchamber and the second region 3 is prevented. The movement of the gascan be prevented, for example, by sealing an adjacent portion to thesecond region 3 in the cell treatment chamber with a sealing member suchas the above-mentioned gasket and a sealing material. When the movementof the gas is prevented in this manner, for example, dust contained inthe gas can be prevented from flowing into the cell treatment chamber.

In the cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment,the third region 5 includes a control device 51 and a power supplydevice 52. As shown in FIG. 8, the control device 51 includes aconfiguration similar to a personal computer, a server computer, aworkstation, or the like. As shown in FIG. 8, the control device 51includes a central processing unit (CPU) 51 a, a main memory 51 b, anauxiliary storage device 51 c, a video codec 51 d, an I/O interface 51e, and the like, which are controlled by a controller (a systemcontroller, an I/O controller, and the like) 51 f and operate incooperation with each other. The auxiliary storage device 51 c can be astorage device such as a flash memory and a hard disk drive. The videocodec 51 d includes: a graphics processing unit (GPU) that generates ascreen to be displayed based on a drawing instruction received from theCPU 51 a and transmits signals of the screen to a display device or thelike outside the cell treatment apparatus 100; and a video memory thattemporarily stores the screen and image data, for example. Theinput-output (I/O) interface 51 e is a device that is communicablyconnected to and controls a first XY stage 13 a and an arm 13 b(suction/discharge moving device), a suction/discharge device 14, acamera 20 (first imaging device), a second XY stage 31 (laser movingdevice, second imaging moving device) a microscope 32 (second imagingdevice), a laser irradiation device 33, and the like. The I/O interface51 e may include a servo driver (servo controller). The I/O interface 51e may be connected to an input device outside the cell treatmentapparatus 100, for example. Examples of the display device include amonitor (for example, various image display devices such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD) and a cathode ray tube (CRT) display) which outputimages. Examples of the input device 8 include a touch panel, a trackpad, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a push buttonwhich can be operated by a finger of an operator.

The program executed by the control device 51 is stored in the auxiliarystorage device 51 c. The program is read into the main memory 51 b atthe time of executing the program and is decoded by the CPU 51 a. Thecontrol device 51 controls each member according to the program.

The laser control unit, the suction/discharge control unit, the firstimaging control unit, and the second imaging control unit included inthe control device 51 in the present embodiment are optional componentsand may or may not be included. In the cell treatment apparatus 100according to the present embodiment, the control device 51 has functionsof the laser control unit, the suction/discharge control unit, the firstimaging control unit, the second imaging control unit, and the like.Thus, for example, a control device is not required to be individuallyprovided in each member, and the cell treatment apparatus can beminiaturized. The present invention, however, is not limited to this,and for example, a control device may be provided in each member, andthe control device 51 and the control device of each member maycooperate to control each member in order to reduce the load on thecontrol device 51. As a specific example, the laser oscillation or thelike may be controlled by, for example, a control device provided ineach member, and the laser irradiation device 33 may be controlled by,for example, the control device 51. In addition, the control device 51may be configured by one semiconductor element, a chip in which multiplesemiconductor elements are packaged in one package, or a configurationin which multiple semiconductor elements are provided on a substrate.

In the present embodiment, the laser control unit controls laserirradiation performed by the laser irradiation device 33 and themovement of the laser emission unit 332 of the laser irradiation device33 performed by the XY stage 31 and the carriage 311 a, which arecollectively the laser moving device. However, the laser control unitmay control either one of them.

In the present embodiment, the suction/discharge control unit controlssuction/discharge performed by the suction/discharge device 14 and themovement of the suction/discharge device 14 performed by the XY stage 13a and the arm 13 b, which are collectively the suction/discharge movingdevice. However, the suction/discharge control unit may control eitherone of them.

In the present embodiment, the first imaging control unit controlsimaging of the inside of the cell treatment chamber performed by thecamera 20 which is the first imaging device.

In the present embodiment, the second imaging control unit controlstaking an image of the cells performed by the microscope 32, which isthe second imaging device, and the movement of the microscope 32performed by the XY stage 31 and the carriage 311 b, which arecollectively the second imaging moving device. However, the secondimaging control unit may control either one of them.

The power supply device 52 is not particularly limited, and a knownpower supply can be used. The power supply device 52 supplies electricpower to members (devices) activated by electric power, such as thelaser irradiation device 33, the laser moving device, the first imagingdevice, the second imaging device, the second imaging moving device, thesuction/discharge device 14, the suction/discharge moving device, thecirculator 7, the illumination device, the germicidal device, thecontrol device 51, and the like. Thus, the power supply device 52 iselectrically connected to, for example, the members (devices) activatedby electric power. The power supply device 52 supplies electric power ata voltage of, for example, 100 V. This enables the cell treatmentapparatus 100 to be used even in a general electric power environment,for example. In the cell treatment apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment, the power supply device 52 is responsible for theentire power supply, and a power supply device is not required to beprovided individually for each member. Thus, for example, the size andweight of the cell treatment apparatus 100 can be reduced. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this, and, for example, a dedicatedpower supply device may be provided for at least one of the devices.

A communication device (not shown) may further be provided in the thirdregion 5 of the cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the presentembodiment. The communication device has a function oftransmitting/receiving data to/from an external device such as apersonal computer, a mobile communication device, or the like, or afunction of connecting to the Internet or the like, for example, by wireor wireless communication. The communication device may be, for example,an existing communication module or the like. When a communicationdevice is provided in this manner, the cell treatment apparatus 100 canbe connected to the outside. Thus, the cell treatment apparatus 100 canbe operated from the outside or can receive data from the outside, forexample. In addition, data in the cell treatment apparatus 100 can bebrowsed by, for example, connecting from the outside.

Next, treatment of cells and collection of treated cells using the celltreatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will bedescribed by way of example.

First, a germicidal lamp 22 is turned off, and illumination lamps 21 aand 21 b are turned on. In addition, a camera 20 is activated by thefirst imaging control unit to start taking an image of the inside of acell treatment chamber. The image of the inside of the cell treatmentchamber taken by the camera 20 is output to a display device via, forexample, a control device 51. Further, a circulator 7 is activated tocirculate the gas in the cell treatment chamber. Thereafter, an operatoropens a door 12 a of the opening 11 a, places a cell culture vessel 184in a culture vessel placement portion 18, and places a collectioncontainer 19 b in a collection container placement portion 19 a. A laserabsorption layer is formed on the bottom surface of the cell culturevessel 184. After the placement, the operator closes the door 12 a ofthe opening 11 a.

Next, a second imaging control unit controls a XY stage 31 and acarriage 311 b to move, thereby moving a microscope 32 to the lower sideof the bottom surface of the cell culture vessel 184. Further, thesuction/discharge control unit controls a XY stage 13 a to move, therebymoving the light source 15 to the upper portion of the upper surface ofthe cell culture vessel 184, that is, to the upper portion of theculture vessel placement portion 18. Then, the microscope 32 takes animage of the cells in the cell culture vessel 184. Taking an image bythe microscope 32 is performed multiple times, for example, usingobjective lenses 321 a to 321 c with different magnifications dependingon the size of the cells to be treated. The image taken by themicroscope 32 includes, for example, a phase contrast microscope imagetaken by a phase-contrast microscope, a fluorescence microscope imagetaken by a fluorescence microscope, and the like. The taken image isoutput to the display device via, for example, the control device 51.

For example, when the operator designates a region of cells to betreated (e.g., a region of cells to be collected) by the input devicebased on the taken image, the laser control unit controls the XY stage31 and the carriage 311 a to move, thereby moving the laser emissionunit 332 to a position where cells surrounding a region of cells to betreated can be irradiated with a laser under the bottom surface of thecell culture vessel 184. The laser control unit controls the laser lightsource 331 to oscillate a laser. The oscillated laser is guided by theoptical fiber 333 and irradiated from the laser emission unit 332.Further, with the laser irradiation, the XY stage 31 and the carriage311 a are moved around the cells to be treated by the laser controlunit. At this time, the size of the spot diameter is adjusted to anappropriate size by moving the carriage 311 a up and down in accordancewith the size of the cells surrounding the region of the cells to betreated so as not to affect the cells in the region of the cells to betreated. The irradiated laser is absorbed by the laser absorption layerformed on the bottom surface of the cell culture vessel 184, and cellssurrounding the cells to be treated are killed by heat or the likegenerated from the laser absorption layer. This makes it possible toexcise the region of cells to be treated.

Next, the suction/discharge control unit controls the XY stage 13 a tomove, thereby moving the suction/discharge device 14 to the upperportion of the storage container 17 b. The suction/discharge controlunit controls the arm 13 b to move up and down, thereby attaching achip, which is the tip member, to the suction/discharge port side of thesuction/discharge device 14. Next, the suction/discharge control unitcontrols the XY stage 13 a to move, thereby moving the suction/dischargedevice 14 to the upper portion of the region of cells to be treated inthe upper portion of the cell culture vessel 184. The suction/dischargecontrol unit controls the arm 13 b to move down, thereby placing theopening of the chip in the vicinity of the region of cells to betreated. In this state, the suction/discharge control unit controls thesuction/discharge device 14 to suck the cells in the region of cells tobe treated together with the surrounding medium into the chip.

Further, the suction/discharge control unit controls the arm 13 b tomove up and the XY stage 13 a to move, thereby moving thesuction/discharge device 14 to the upper portion of the collectioncontainer 19 b. Further, the suction/discharge control unit controls thearm 13 b to move down, thereby moving the opening of the chip to theinside of the collection container 19 b. In this state, thesuction/discharge control unit controls the suction/discharge device 14to discharge the medium containing the cells in the region of cells tobe treated in the chip into the collection container 19 b.

After the discharge, the suction/discharge control unit controls the arm13 b to move up and the XY stage 13 a to move, thereby moving thesuction/discharge device 14 to the upper portion of the drainagecontainer 16 b. Further, the suction/discharge control unit controls thearm 13 b to move down and the XY stage 13 a to move, thereby catchingthe upper end of the chip by the tip member detachment device 16 c,which is a recess in the upper surface provided in the drainagecontainer 16 b. In this state, the suction/discharge control unitcontrols the arm 13 b to move up, thereby detaching the chip from thesuction/discharge device 14.

Then, the operator opens the door 12 a of the opening 11 a, collects thecell culture vessel 184 from the culture vessel placement portion 18,and collects the collection container 19 b from the collection containerplacement portion 19 a. In this manner, the cell treatment apparatus 100according to the present embodiment can perform a cell treatment andcollect the treated cells.

The cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment iscapable of easily subjecting cells in the cell culture vessel 184 totreatments such as screening and collecting, for example. In addition,the cell treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment isnot affected by the skill level of the operator, for example becausecells are treated not by the operator himself but by the laserirradiation device. Thus, for example, the quality of the cells obtainedafter the treatment is stabilized.

Although the present invention is described above with reference toembodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. Variousmodifications can be made within the scope of the present inventionwhich can be understood by those skilled in the art.

The present application is based upon and claims the benefit of priorityfrom Japanese patent application No. 2017-024511, filed on Feb. 13,2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein its entiretyby reference.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The cell treatment apparatus according to the present invention iscapable of treating cells in the cell culture vessel. Therefore, thepresent invention is extremely useful, for example, in the fields ofregenerative medicine, drug discovery, and the like in which a largeamount of cells with stable quality is used.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   100: cell treatment apparatus-   1: first region-   11 a, 11 b: opening-   12 a, 12 b: door-   13 a: first XY stage-   13 b: arm-   14: suction/discharge device-   15: light source-   16 a: drainage container placement portion-   16 b: drainage container-   16 c: tip member detachment device-   17 a: storage container placement portion-   17 b: storage container-   18: culture vessel placement portion-   181: upper lid-   182: bottom-   183: translucent region-   184: cell culture vessel-   185: bottom wall-   186: bottom plate-   187: recess-   188: projection-   19 a: collection container placement portion-   19 b: collection container-   3: second region-   31: second XY stage-   311 a, 311 b: carriage-   32: microscope-   321 a, 321 b, 321 c: objective lens-   33: laser irradiation device-   331: laser light source-   332: laser emission unit-   333: optical fiber-   5: third region-   51: control device-   51 a: CPU-   51 b: main memory-   51 c: auxiliary storage device-   51 d: video codec-   51 e: I/O interface-   51 f: controller-   52: power supply device-   7: circulator-   71: intake unit-   72: circulation path-   73: gas supply unit-   74: discharge unit

The invention claimed is:
 1. A cell treatment apparatus comprising: afirst region; and a second region; wherein the first region and thesecond region are placed in succession, the first region is a celltreatment chamber for treating cells, the cell treatment chamber can beclosed from the outside of the cell treatment chamber and comprises aculture vessel placement portion for placing a cell culture vessel, thesecond region comprises: a second imaging device comprising objectivelenses, the imaging device being configured to take an image of cells inthe cell culture vessel placed in the culture vessel placement portionvia the objective lenses, a laser irradiation device comprising a laserlight source and a laser emitter, the laser irradiation device beingconfigured to irradiate the cell culture vessel placed in the culturevessel placement portion with a laser emitted via the laser emitter,wherein electric power to the laser irradiation device and to theimaging device is supplied from a source outside the first region andthe second region, the culture vessel placement portion is placed to beadjacent to the second region in the cell treatment chamber, and anadjacent portion to the second region in the culture vessel placementportion is translucent.
 2. The cell treatment apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the cell treatment chamber comprises at least oneopening and at least one door that can open and close the at least oneopening.
 3. The cell treatment apparatus according to claim 2, whereinthe at least one door is non-translucent.
 4. The cell treatmentapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cell treatment chambercomprises a work opening for working on a cell treatment in the celltreatment chamber and a maintenance opening through which the celltreatment chamber can be maintained, and the work opening and themaintenance opening are placed at different locations in the celltreatment chamber.
 5. The cell treatment apparatus according to claim 4,wherein an area of the work opening is smaller than that of themaintenance opening.
 6. The cell treatment apparatus according to claim4, wherein the cell treatment chamber further comprises a germicidaldevice configured to disinfect the inside of the cell treatment chamber,and the germicidal device is placed on the work opening side in the celltreatment chamber.
 7. The cell treatment apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: a circulator that circulates gas in the celltreatment chamber, wherein the circulator comprises: an intake unit thattakes gas in the cell treatment chamber; a gas supply unit thatpartially supplies the intake gas into the cell treatment chamber; and adischarge unit that discharges the remainder of the intake gas out ofthe cell treatment chamber.
 8. The cell treatment apparatus according toclaim 7, wherein the discharge unit is placed at a topmost portion ofthe cell treatment apparatus.
 9. The cell treatment apparatus accordingto claim 7, wherein the cell treatment chamber comprises an outer walland an inner wall, and a circulation path that connects the intake unitwith the gas supply unit and the discharge unit is placed between theouter wall and the inner wall.
 10. The cell treatment chamber accordingto claim 1, wherein the cell treatment chamber further comprises anillumination device configured to project light into the cell treatmentchamber.
 11. The cell treatment apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe cell treatment chamber further comprises a suction/discharge deviceand a suction/discharge moving device that moves the suction/dischargedevice.
 12. The cell treatment apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe cell treatment chamber comprises another imaging device configuredto take an image of the inside of the cell treatment chamber.
 13. Thecell treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imagingdevice is configured to take an image of cells in the cell culturevessel placed in the culture vessel placement portion at multiplemagnifications.
 14. The cell treatment apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the laser light source is placed in a portion of the secondregion other than portions where other devices are placed.
 15. The celltreatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second regioncomprises: a laser moving device that moves the laser irradiationdevice, and an imaging moving device that moves the imaging device, andwherein the laser moving device is configured to move the laserirradiation device in a first direction on a plane that is substantiallyparallel with a placement surface of the culture vessel placementportion, the imaging moving device is configured to move the imagingdevice in a first direction on a plane that is substantially parallelwith a placement surface of the culture vessel placement portion, andthe movement of the laser irradiation device in the first directionperformed by the laser moving device and the movement of the imagingdevice in the first direction performed by the imaging moving device aremovements on the same straight line.
 16. The cell treatment apparatusaccording to claim 15, wherein the laser moving device comprises acarriage on which the laser irradiation device is placed and a movingpath in which the carriage moves and that is placed along the firstdirection, the imaging moving device comprises a carriage on which theimaging device is placed and a moving path in which the carriage movesand is placed along the first direction, and the moving path in thelaser moving device is the same as that of the imaging moving device.17. The cell treatment apparatus according to claim 15, wherein thelaser moving device is configured to further move the laser irradiationdevice in a direction substantially orthogonal to a placement surface ofthe culture vessel placement portion.
 18. The cell treatment apparatusaccording to claim 15, wherein the laser moving device is configured tomove the laser irradiation device in a second direction that issubstantially orthogonal to the first direction on a plane that issubstantially parallel with a placement surface of the culture vesselplacement portion.
 19. The cell treatment apparatus according to claim1, wherein a bottom surface in the culture vessel placement portioncomprises a recess where the cell culture vessel is placed, the recesscomprises a projection projecting toward the inside of the recess on theend side of the second region, and a side surface of the recess isreversely tapered from the inside to the outside of the cell treatmentchamber.
 20. The cell treatment apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe laser irradiation device and the imaging device are configured asindependent units.